Brampton woman died following car crash

A crash which led to the death of a 78-year-old woman was “probably the result of momentary driver distraction”, an inquest heard.

Beryl Radbourne, of Knowles Close, Brampton, had been travelling from March, where she had lunch with her friends, when her blue Rover collided with the rear of a white Mercedes while approaching a roundabout on the A141, near Wyton, on May 20.

An inquest held at Lawrence Court, Huntingdon, on Thursday (October 1), heard that she had driven into the back of the Mercedes as the driver and a lorry in front slowed down to approach the roundabout.

The driver of the Mercedes, Robert Foss, said: “I had come to a stop and that is when, within two minutes, I felt the impact. My immediate reaction was to duck – then I felt a second impact, I looked over my right shoulder to see the car was crossing into the other lane.”

The court heard that Mrs Radbourne’s car careered into the opposite side of the road, crashed into a bush and came to a stop facing front forward into a ditch.

Witness Amanda Searle was driving around the roundabout when the crash happened.

She said: “I saw the Mercedes facing towards me and the blue Rover directly in front of me. I couldn’t see the driver or anyone in the car.”

Drivers tried to get Mrs Radbourne out of the car but “her seatbelt was on and she was slumped across the handbrake,” said Mrs Searle.

PC Wayne Softley from the BCH Road Policing Unit attended the scene shortly after the incident to investigate the cause of the crash.

In his report read by David Heming, senior coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, PC Softley said: “The accident was probably the result of momentary driver distraction.”

Emergency services were called to the incident and Mrs Radbourne was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge, where she died later that evening.

A post mortem examination, carried out by Dr Roshina Ahmed, concluded that the retired teacher had been suffering with osteoporosis at the time of her death which had made her prone to fractures.

Mr Heming recorded a conclusion that Mrs Radbourne died has a result of a road traffic collision.

He said: “The road traffic collision was low speed impact but the osteoporosis would have made her vulnerable to fractures.”